The present invention is directed to fire detection systems, in general, and more specifically to a system capable of detecting a fire in a storage area accurately and reliably, with a controller which is governed by at least one IR imager and at least one fire detector disposed at the storage area to confirm the presence of a fire in the storage area.
It is of paramount importance to detect a fire in an unattended, storage area or enclosed storage compartment at an early stage of progression so that it may be suppressed before spreading to other compartments or areas adjacent or in close proximity to the affected storage area or compartment. This detection and suppression of fires becomes even more critical when the storage compartment is located in a vehicle that is operated in an environment isolated from conventional fire fighting personnel and equipment, like a cargo hold of an aircraft, for example. Current aircraft fire suppressant systems include a gaseous material, like Halon® 1301, for example, that is compressed in one or more containers at central locations on the aircraft and distributed through piping to the various cargo holds in the aircraft. When a fire is detected in a cargo hold, an appropriate valve or valves in the piping system is or are activated to release the Halon fire suppressant material into the cargo hold in which fire was detected. The released Halon material is intended to blanket or flood the cargo hold and put out the fire. Heretofore, this has been considered an adequate system.
However, the Halon material of the current systems contains an ozone depleting material which may leak from the storage compartment and into the environment upon being activated to suppress a fire. Most nations of the world prefer banning this material to avoid its harmful effects on the environment. Also, Halon produces toxic products when activated by flame. Accordingly, there is a strong desire to find an alternate material to Halon and a suitable fire suppressant system for dispensing it as needed.
In addition, any time the fire suppressant material is dispensed to flood and blanket a storage area as a result of a fire indication from a fire detection system, it leaves a residue which covers the storage area or compartment and all of its contents. As a result of this situation, a very costly and time consuming clean-up is promptly performed with each dispensing of suppressant material. For cargo holds of aircraft, a fire in the hold indication requires not only a dispensing of the fire suppressant material, but also a prompt landing of the aircraft at the nearest airport. The aircraft will then remain out of service until clean up is completed and the aircraft is certified to fly again. This unscheduled servicing of the aircraft is very costly to the airlines and inconveniences the passengers thereof. The problem is that some activations of the fire suppressant system result from false alarms of the fire detection system, i.e. caused by a perceived fire condition that is something other than an actual fire. Thus, the costs and inconveniences incurred as a result of the dispensing of the fire suppressant material under false alarm conditions could have been avoided with a more accurate and reliable fire detection system.
The present invention intends to overcome the drawbacks of the current fire detection and suppressant systems and to offer a system which detects a fire accurately and reliably, generates a fire indication and provides for a quick dispensing of a fire suppressant, which does not include substantially an ozone depleting material, focused within the storage compartment in which the fire is detected.